Archive for April, 2016

It’s axiomatic that experts in a field are better equipped than outsiders to design interventions that will work. Yet in education, we face a constant barrage of external reform efforts that fail to incorporate professional knowledge and expertise—and they just don’t work.

This point is reinforced in recent research out of the National Education Policy Center. In this study, Marilyn Cochran-Smith and her colleagues at Boston College (MA) examine the evidentiary base underlying four national initiatives for teacher preparation program accountability and improvement. They find that only one of the initiatives—the beginning-teacher performance assessment edTPA, designed and managed by the profession—is founded on claims supported by research. With a measure that is valid, scoring that is reliable, and therefore results that are accurate, we have a serious tool for program improvement.

Image From the SWOT Analysis TemplateSource: OPS #3: Creating a Quality Assurance System

Have you ever been to a workshop that offered a Make-and-Take: Make a project, wrap it up, and take it home? In AACTE’s Online Professional Seminars (OPSs), you can do just that. The models and other resources shared in these short courses allow you to select materials for immediate application in your own setting, download them in user-friendly files, and then share with colleagues at your home institution.

In this NPRM, the Department is considering how states would report on teacher preparation programs provided through distance education, particularly when students in multiple states are enrolled in the same program. The second area of concern is how TEACH grant eligibility would be determined for students in those programs that are available in multiple states.

Ed Prep Matters is pleased to bring you this special feature on policy and AACTE chapter activity in the states. For a summary of February’s state activity, see this article; January’s state activity is available here.

Overview of State Policy Activity

In March, at least 30 state legislatures met as part of their 2016 legislative sessions. At least 184 state bills were introduced related to educator preparation. Since the New Year, approximately 300 bills have been introduced, of which seven have been signed into law.